Ep437. Psalm 4. Evening Prayer.
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
When you’re desperate, do you pray? The psalmist does. Listen to psalm 4.
Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress,
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer (v 1).
This psalm is a bedtime prayer, a “now I lay me down to sleep” meditation. At the end of a long and difficult day, we are tired and confused. Discouraged. We’ve read of murders and chaos. We’ve endured countless advertisements promising happiness if we drive faster, travel farther, buy more, eat sweeter, and live fuller. The psalmist responds,
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? (v 2)
If you measure your life by career success, possessions, health, and happiness, watch out! The psalmist measures life by our relationship to God:
The Lord has set apart his servant for himself,
the Lord hears when I call to him (v 2-3).
This psalm is a reset button at day’s end, pulling us away from endless viewing and scrolling to see what God offers. Before drifting off to sleep, the psalm says,
. . . when you are on your bed,
search your heart and be silent.
Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the Lord (v 4-5).
The day is ending. The newspaper is in the recycle bin. Computers are off. Cell phones charging.
Receive the quiet. Offer the day to God. Don’t obsess on what went right and wrong, don’t brood on your coulda, shoulda, woulda done. Give the day to God, a sacrifice to him. As you sleep, God prepares a new day for you, a day where you will wake up and start over.
Let’s pray.
O father, we live in a constant commotion of distracted work, agitated hearts and confused thinking. Social media perturbs us, world news shakes us, anxiously we try to make sense of our lives.
With the author of psalm 4, we ask,
Who will teach us how to live? (v 6).
And with him we respond,
Let the light of your face shine on us.
Fill our hearts with joy (v 6-7).
Replace our agitation with purpose, our restlessness with peace, our questions with quietness. May we sleep a hopeful sleep, trusting you to watch us, trusting you to wake us, trusting you to work your will in us.
In peace I lie down and sleep,
for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety (v 8).
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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